"How the fuck did he fool us? He can't have fooled us! HE FUCKING HAS KC!" I screamed while pacing frantically. Indy took a deep breath then looked back up the cliff we'd fallen down.
"That first river we passed, that's where the guy pulled that trick so that's where we can pick his trail back up again." Indy said confidently. Indy's confidence bugged me for some reason instead of comforted me. I shook my head and agreed regardless.
"Lets go!" I exclaimed.
Bizarro wrapped around a tentacle tails around each of our waists and lifted us up before dashing towards the cliff face and running vertically up it. It only took him a few moments to reach the top and once he was over Bizarro immediately took off back the way we came, heading to the river that Indy mentioned.
I was not a fan of the fact that Bizarro held Indy and I in mid-air the entire time or the fact that Gadget was digging his nails into my shoulder and arm just to hold on. But these things didn't mean much in comparison to what could be happening to KC or will happen to KC if that guy manages to meet up with any Americans.
Bizarro suddenly came to a stop, his whole body tense. Gadget was the same way. He clung to my arm, unmoving, unblinking, the only sign that he was alive were the slight twitch of his nostrils.
Indy and I jerked my head to where Bizarro and Gadget were looking and I saw nothing. The confused look on Indy's face told me he didn't see anything either. Gadget's comment about groups watching made me nervous though.
"Evos…not human…" Indy said softly. "Ignore them for now Bizarro."
Indy jumped down from Bizarro and walked over to the river. He kneeled down and stared at the mud near the bank for a few seconds before looking towards the other side of the river.. He rushed across the river to the other bank and did the same as before. He looked towards the mountains in the east and frowned.
"He cut across this way and headed towards the mountain." Indy said. Bizarro jumped over the river and crouched down next to Indy so he could climb onto his back in front of me.
I held on tightly as Bizarro ran through the woods, slowing down occasionally to let Indy look at the ground. He changed direction several times on Indy's orders, zigzagging through the forest. The tracks or whatever Indy was seeing was invisible to me but given the amount of ground we were covering had to mean something.
"Indy!" I called out.
"Already know!" Indy replied.
Bizarro burst through some brush, coming to a dirt road leading down a winding hill. Bizarro skidded to a stop at the top of the hill, breathing heavily but still focused.
At the bottom of the hill was a large group of American soldiers, at least thirty of them. The captive and KC were down there with the soldiers, the Americans had their guns drawn and pointed at the both of them. Which made sense since the captive had Reagan's face and he was supposed to be dead.
Bizarro immediately ducked low and jumped behind a bush nearby. His fur simmered before changing to match the colors and textures of the bush and surrounding earth.
"I don't think they saw us." Indy muttered softly.
"Who cares about them seeing us! That guy has KC!" I snapped and quickly had a tentacle wrapped around my mouth, silencing me.
"There are at least thirty enemies with guns and we're both children." Indy muttered. The cold and calculating timber of his voice instantly made me freeze. I had to do a double take when I heard it, Indy didn't sound like himself. "They have the captive at gunpoint and in turn, KC. If we rushed down there we could end up getting KC killed."
I gritted my teeth and shook off Bizarro's tentacle. Regardless of how I felt about the situation Indy was right. Rushing in could get KC killed, however doing nothing in a tense situation like that could get him killed just as easily.
"Bizarro get us close to the group without being seen." Indy ordered his evo. Bizarro purred in response and wrapped his tentacle tails around Indy, Gadget, and I so he could cloak us with his camouflage ability.
I couldn't see anything but I could feel Bizarro moving and hear the soft and subtle rustle of leaves and grass as he moved. A slight squeeze by a Bizarro's tentacles was the only warning that we were in position near the soldiers that I got. I could hear voices, raised voices but they were muffled by Bizarro's tentacles.
Thanks to my connection to Gadget I could sense him getting further away and if I focused I could even see through his eyes. Though that wasn't a good idea right now. If I saw that KC was crying or hurt I would not be able to control myself.
To say everyone was surprised was putting it mildly. I wasn't even expecting Gadget to pop off an explosion of all things. Though true to Indy's predictions I heard a lot of voice screaming and scrambling to get away from the explosion.
"NOW!" Indy barked.
Suddenly we were moving, Bizarro bounding through the bushes and then suddenly for a brief moment flying through the air. At least it felt like we were flying. I could hear the wind whipping past Bizarro's tails. I heard a shriek and the unmistakable sound of KC laughing a second before Bizarro landed and took off running.
Bizarro came to a stop and the tentacles he had wrapped around me and Indy unwound. Dropping the two of us on the ground. I landed on my butt, Indy however somehow managed to land on his feet. He always managed to land on his feet.
I looked around and saw that we were inside a small grove created by the large roots of a nearly toppled tree. The roots woven in with the branches and shrubs, creating a nice little hidey-hole. Bizarro was holding KC in one of his tentacles, rolling and lifting him softly in the air. The little guy was laughing and trying to grab the tip of one of Bizarro's tentacles.
A gruff and muffled growl drew my attention to the captive. Bizarro had him restrained with three tentacles and pressed firmly into the ground face first. My vision blurred for a split second and I saw Gargesh laying face down on the floor of the storage car instead of the captive.
Rage pure and unfiltered flooded my veins as the captive came back into view. I felt a sickening bile start to creep up my throat, threatening to choke me. Before I knew it I was standing in front of the captive, a crystal genesis dagger that Gadget had stolen from Chase in my hands.
"BO!"
I slowly craned my head to look over at Indy. He was holding KC, bouncing the kid lightly, the way Angie did when he was fussy. Indy eyes were frighteningly cold and had no trace of any emotion, mirroring the chilling way he'd barked my name that I honestly found terrifying.
"He killed Gargesh!" I snapped, my anger overriding my sense of fear.
"So you think you can kill him?" Indy asked. He voice sounded inhumanly calm. "You're a child, do you honestly think you have the stomach to kill a man?"
"I'm older than you and what you or anyone else thinks doesn't matter! Gargesh is dead because of him! He needs to pay!" I spat, the bile I felt in my throat threatening to spill out.
"So you'll condemn Reagan just to satisfy your need for revenge?" Indy asked. I stilled and looked back down at the captive, he still had Reagan's face. "Iris and Anders both changed back but Reagan didn't, they came back and Reagan didn't. That means he is still with the Americans and probably undercover. Kill that man and the spell will come undone and you'll sign Reagan's death warrant."
I growled through gritted teeth. Indy was right. Iris didn't tell us what was going on when she told us to kill the captives but the fact him still having Reagan's face spoke volumes.
"FUCK!" I screamed then threw the dagger at one of the exposed tree roots. It smacked against the root and fell harmlessly to the ground. Indy walked over to me and patted my shoulder.
"Calm down, you're scaring KC." He said, his voice taking on a softer tone than earlier. KC reached out and patted the top of my head.
"Saddy sad, go away." KC comforted me. I let out a ragged breath and shook my head.
"Saddy sad stay a while."
"Bizarro…" Indy said, turning to look at his evo. "…take KC and this guy back to the King's Glaive. Only hand KC over to his parents."
"Yes little shadow." Bizarro replied with a tilt of his head then wrapped around tentacle around KC and lifted him from Indy's arms. Indy squealed happily as he was placed on Bizarro's back, just behind his shoulder blades.
Bizarro took off, disappearing into the forest with a happy and giggling KC. Meanwhile I was feeling ready to blow with anger and self-hatred. I was about to turn and stomp to where the thirty soldiers were when I suddenly had a knife handle shoved in my face. Indy had plucked the knife off the ground and was holding it out to me.
"Getting angry about not being able to take revenge is not productive. Instead channel that anger into our next job." Indy said.
"Our next job?" I muttered quizzically.
"Killing those soldiers." Indy clarified. My eyes widened while Indy's steeled with resolve. "Those soldiers saw the captive wearing Reagan's face. Reagan is supposed to be dead to the Americans. If they get back to their commanders and tell them that he is alive things could get messy."
I nodded absentmindedly, a little bit shocked that he was talking about killing so casually. Indy pressed the handle against my cheek, urging me to take my knife.
"Lets take a page from Chase's book and go a little crazy…"